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[wipingallout]

... ... ... ... ?

What is...?

I shouldn't... be awake...


[In the Velvet Room...]

[It's courteous of whatever's going on with Igor's plan here that Hamuko is dressed. She probably shouldn't even have a body... whatever she has going on now... did her body fall comatose without her? Did it die? If it was alive, she surely should be much older. ... ... ... Maybe that all doesn't really matter, right now. She's here, gifted a chance to be around others again. The pinboard catches her attention first, of course. Signs of other people... so many little notes, talking about multiple versions of the same person running around. That's... that's charming... that's fun. ...Even if the notes about Ken Amadas make her sad...]

Hmm... I don't see any other 'me' off the bat...

[She'll take a few minutes once given a pen and some pink paper to doodle a little version of herself, signed with her name and phone number, and add it to the corner of the pinboard.]


[Inaba, Central Shopping District]

[What a fun little town! A charming place... hey, isn't this the town she went to for the volleyball camp? She loved the accommodations, but it's so nice to actually wander the streets and see the little shops. This place is SO rural, Hamuko had never really visited a place this remote, even when jumping between foster homes.] Let's see... what's the good spot for the locals? [No point being a complete tourist shmuck!!]


[Shibuya, Underground Mall]

[Well, since nothing costs anything here... might as well get some cute new clothes, right? Who knows how long she'll be around here, and 'dreaming up' new outfits didn't seem to be a thing. No lucid dreaming here - somehow, Hamuko felt a lot happier with that in mind. Still... the fashion is so different!!]

I just want one cute orange top...!! Is orange out of style? Dang it...


[Iwatodai Dorms]

[Of all of the places she's been having fun goofing off and exploring in, the dorms... she couldn't quite get the courage to open the front. Not just yet.]

Not even Koromaru is out front right now. ...I've gotta apologize...

Comments

[warped_ken_amada]

"I am not caging up," he answered, his tone rising slightly. "I am not even against the very concept of caring for someone else, if you'd bothered to listen. If I was truly devoid of all care, I would have killed all of you the moment I stepped foot in this place. That would have been the smart thing to do if consolidating power was the only thing on my mind."

He took a deep breath to calm down a little, and his tone gets somewhat normal again.

"But I feel kinship with most people here. I just want to open your eyes... your place is above, not below! As rulers, not slaves!"

[wipingallout]

That surprised her. But it also brought a sad smile to her face - she relaxed a little in her shoulders, leaning back against the park bench.

"Do you feel lonesome, too?"

He was so strange, so uncanny...

...But this was far from her first brush with the uncanny, wasn't it?

"What's a slave, to you, then?"

[warped_ken_amada]

"Look at everyone here! So many blessed with extraordinary abilities, having done great things in their homeworlds, and then what? Did they get any reward? Does anyone outside of very small groups even care? No! The corrupt world will still come down on them with its demands, with its abuse. They are still expected to obey, to serve, to endure."

It was not a direct answer to any of her questions, but it did answer something nonetheless.

[wipingallout]

"Humanity has a lot of growing and changing to do, it's true..." she agreed with a slight hum. "...That just motivates me to protect those that aren't corrupt. To protect those that are weak, and just trying to live their lives."

[warped_ken_amada]

"You're wasting your time. People have tried for millenia. Individual humans can, but humanity as a whole will never change."

[wipingallout]

"I believe in them. We've come so far already, haven't we? From the grueling injustices of old. We keep facing new ones, but... this, too, shall pass. I staked my life on it, and I would do it all over again."

[warped_ken_amada]

"That's very commendable, but I won't sacrifice everything on the off-chance they can indeed change."

[wipingallout]

"What's a slave, to you, Amada-kun?"